The Democratic vacancy committee for House District 56 plans to decide this weekend on who will represent the three-county district in the General Assembly for the next two years. And two members of that 15-member body are among the candidates for the seat and will be allowed to vote.

The freshmen class for the 2011 General Assembly enters the state capitol on January 12 as part of a divided House and Senate, and two former members of that body pleaded with them to behave honorably and respectfully, lest they fail to get anything done.

A senator, doctor, entrepreneur and college professor provided insight and speculation Tuesday to how Colorado’s medical marijuana laws may be altered when the Legislature takes up the issue again next year.

The Joint Budget Committee, with four new members, has begun the process of working on the 2011-12 budget with briefings from its staff on 11 state agencies and a meeting with Gov. Bill Ritter on his proposal for the next fiscal year.

Saying “the process of earmarking has become like a drug to many members of Congress,” U.S. Sen. Mark Udall announced Tuesday he would put a halt to his own earmark requests and joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling for a Senate vote on a “binding earmark moratorium” as soon as this week.

Gov. Bill Ritter laid out the state’s 2011-12 budget on Election Day Tuesday, saying the $19.1 billion spending plan is “fiscally responsible and moves Colorado forward on the road to recovery.” But the cuts to the 2011-12 budget show that the state is beginning to cut into essential services, the result of both the recession and the end of one-time federal dollars that kept the budget balanced.